Post Brexit Racism Countered By Flowers And Messages Of Love At London Polish Centre

After hate crimes reported to police rose by 57%.

People from across the country are showing immigrants that they are welcome in the UK after a shocking rise in hate crimes since Britain voted to leave the European Union on Friday.

From flowers being handed out at school to dozens of cards being sent to a Polish centre that was the target of racist abuse at the weekend, British citizens are going out of their way to make sure people of other cultures feel welcome.

It comes as the National Police Chiefs’ Council revealed that hate crimes reported to the police has risen 57% between Thursday and Sunday compared to the corresponding days four weeks ago.

The campaign, launched in response to Operation Croissant, led to scones being handed out to people boarding and leaving the Eurostar.

As well as a scone, passengers were also given a postcard with the slogan “sorry we’ve scone” and messages of affection towards the French from Londoners.

Sarah Fox, who launched Operation Scone with her friend Jules Middleton, said: “We work together and after spending Friday feeling really depressed about the result and unable to concentrate, we felt we had to do something to show our EU friends that this wasn’t the result Londoners wanted.”

A detailed list compiled by Tell MAMA, a group that measures anti-Muslim attacks, revealed the rise in racist abuse people have received since Friday's referendum result.

Fiyaz Mughal, founder and director of Faith Matters, said: “The Brexit vote seems to have legitimised the prejudice of some people to the point where they are verbalising and targeting people at a street level who are visibly different.

“This is England 2016 and this is totally unacceptable.”

Examples of the racist behaviour documented includes a taxi driver telling a Muslim woman that he voted to leave the EU “to get rid of people like you”.

Other people report being called a “p***” and physical abuse.

On Tuesday, the BBC aired the moment its journalist Sima Kotecha was called a ‘p***’ by a Brexit voter in her home town of Basingstoke.

Kotecha was in “utter shock” speaking to Brexit voters in the Hampshire town where she grew up, where 52% of people voted to leave the EU.

Filmed with a mobile phone on, the footage shows three beer-drinking youths shouting at a commuter to “Get back to Africa” after he asked them to stop loudly swearing.

One of the boys on board the 7.40am Manchester tram hollers at the man, who speaks with an American accent, “Get off the tram now, I’ll waste you, I’ll waste anyone.”

Clarification: This story previously highlighted an event in Bristol showing school children handing out flowers, which had been reshared on the BBC Points West Facebook page. We have removed it due to the video being a year old.